Colorado Classics

Colorado Classics: Mom and dad started Speedway to keep John Bandimere Jr. off streets

John Bandimere Jr. says "half the reason my parents built this track was to get me off the streets." (Kent Nishimura, The Denver Post)

John Bandimere Jr. takes delight in saying his parents built a special playground in the first row of foothills west of Denver to get him off the streets.

At first, the playground was a "simple drag strip" where local fast-car fanciers could see how fast they could go from a standstill to the end of 1,320 feet of pavement. That same location is known today as Bandimere Speedway, a nationally acclaimed facility that attracts some of the biggest National Hot Rod Association events of the year.

In July, the Mile High Nationals brought Bandimere into the focus of car racing enthusiasts around the country and the world.

"We had a three-day event where we dealt with 110,000 people," Bandimere said. "Overnight our facility became a city of its own. We made it an experience all kinds of people could enjoy."

On the national scale, the Nationals have maintained a spot for the speedway that keeps the name of one of Denver's longest-standing racing families in the public's eye.

"There are 23 national events and the Mile High Nationals would be one of them," Bandimere said. "We're considered to be one of the top three tracks in the country and the only drag race track in the country at 5,280-foot elevation. Our setting in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains is the most beautiful on the circuit and could be a picture on a poster."

Bandimere has grown in his job as president of the speedway along with its development into a national-class facility.

"When we started out here in 1958, there was nothing else out here, and it stayed that way into the 1970s," Bandimere said. "We had no neighbors. "Now there are homes worth millions of dollars less than a mile away."

Bandimere was one of the first benefactors of the facility . He grew up within earshot of Lakeside Speedway and was thrilled by the sounds of the fast-moving race cars.

"I've been a car nut all my life," Bandimere said while admitting he didn't shy away from testing his car in impromptu drag races.

"I think half the reason my parents built this track was to get me off the streets," Bandimere said. "It was a fulfillment of their dream to have a safe environment to race cars off the streets."

The Bandimere family's involvement with cars dates beyond the speedway. They operated a gas station on the east end of the Colfax viaduct and an auto parts store.

While it has changed in quality, one of the original functions of the speedway remains today. Nearly every Wednesday at 4 p.m., the track is open to all comers. It's called the Colorado State Patrol Responsible Speed test night.

"It's very interesting to see who all shows up," Bandimere said. "There might be 15 to 20 people come out to see how fast their friend's car can go down the track."

Bandimere still is hooked.

"I can't explain what happens," Bandimere said. "People come here for the first time and leave saying they'll never miss a race again. I know when our race cars take off, they virtually shake the mountain. They hit their top speed in four seconds or less."

It's all part of the business. The ease of 4 p.m. amateur night to the complexity of the Mile High Nationals presents a wide range of responsibilities on the president's desk.

"I never thought I could make a living running just a drag strip," Bandimere said.

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